Minister expects inflation in Russia to be below 6 prc in 2013

July 26, 2013, 5:33 UTC+3Consumer prices have grown 4.3-4.4 percent since the beginning of the year and 6.5 percent year-on-year

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MOSCOW, July 26 (Itar-Tass) - Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev said he was confident that inflation in Russia will be below 6 percent in 2013.

Commenting on the fact that inflation now is above the projected level, Ulyukayev said, “This was expectable. But we are confident that it will get back to the target level by the end of the year and will be below 6 percent.”

Russia’s inflation in July will be 0.8-0.9 percent, according to the Ministry of Economic Development’s macroeconomic monitoring report for July 12-19, which was released on July 22.

Consumer prices have grown 4.3-4.4 percent since the beginning of the year and 6.5 percent year-on-year.

Since the beginning of July, inflation has been 0.6 percent, including 0.1 percent last week.

Central Bank Chair Elvira Nabiullina also expressed confidence that inflation would return to the project level of 5-6 percent by the end of the year.

“Inflation is currently slightly above the level we have set as a target but we hope we will get back to 5-6 percent by the end of the year,” Nabiullina said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin earlier this week.

She believes that “much will depend on the crop and food prices” but “on the whole, we hope to be able to keep inflation going down.”

“We also expect further decrease in inflation next year and hope that this will be helped by the decision to curb the tariffs for the services of natural monopolies,” the chief banker said.

Nabiullina briefed the president on the Central Bank’s priorities, naming monetary and credit policy among them. “It should match the current economic situation and a key task there is to continue the policy of reducing inflation,” she said.